Barcelona veteran taken off with an injury during Spanish Super Cup final | OneFootball

Barcelona have been handed a major blow as veteran defender Inigo Martinez has been substituted off with an injury in their ongoing Spanish Super Cup final against Real Madrid.

The 33-year-old veteran started the match alongside Pau Cubarsi at the heart of the Barça defence that was breached just five minutes into the game by Kylian Mbappe.

Lamine Yamal equalised for Barcelona around the 20th minute and not long after that Martinez went down on the field with what seemed to be a muscle injury.

The Spaniard was soon taken off by manager Hansi Flick, with Ronald Araujo, linked with an exit this month, coming on to replace the injured star and even taking the captain’s armband.

Inigo Martinez has been a permanent fixture in the starting XI this season under Flick and has been one of Barcelona’s most reliable performers.

As such, his injury will be a cause of great concern for Flick & co., especially with games coming thick and fast in the next weeks.

More clarity about his injury and its severity should emerge after the game. It will be interesting to see if this affects Araujo’s future as well.